The Problematic Adventures of Being a Housewife
by TheCuriousCashew
Summary: Now that their stories of youth have all been told and that they've finally settled down and started their own families, the girls of the Naruto series find that, besides all the romance and fond memories that come along with being a wife and a mother, the job is actually much harder than it looks! Sasusaku, Naruhina, Shikatema, and more pairings to come as well!
1. Sakura

**Hello, everybody! I just wanted to let everyone know that this is my first official fan fiction, and that I'm really excited to share it with all of you! I am aware that my writing is not perfect, and that I still have a long way to go in terms of writing fiction, so if you have any constructive feedback you would like to give, I encourage you to share, but do not waste your time leaving flames, as they will be ignored.**

 **With that being said, please enjoy my first story, I hope you like it! :)**

The Problematic Adventures of Being a Housewife

 ** _Sakura's POV_**

"Oomph, hah, wah-cha!" Sakura giggled at the silly sounds her fourteen year old daughter, Sarada, was making as she struck the ragged, old dummy in the courtyard relentlessly. She glanced over her shoulder towards the warm sunset, watching as the refreshing May breeze danced with the fallen cherry blossoms on the ground, causing them to gently flutter her way. Life just couldn't get better than this, could it?

Sakura loved her work as a medical ninja, and was ecstatic to get back to work after so long, but it was times like these that she wished she could stay here forever. She glanced at her daughter, who was obviously exhausted, yet still attacking the dummy without hesitation. She was so much like her father, in so many ways, she thought to herself.

Oh right, her father… She missed him so much, she gave a yearning sigh.

The pink haired Uchiha snapped back to reality however, when a loud piercing cry broke out from inside the house, which caused both of the Uchiha women to freeze. Sakura immediately jumped up from the stone bench she was seated on, and nodded for Sarada to continue training, as she rushed to the front door.

She entered the building and quickly hurried her way to the stairs. "I'm coming Sousuke! Hold on!" She called as she turned into the room which held the source of the deafening shriek. She entered the yellow room which was only illuminated by the soft glow of a night light. The pink haired kunoichi, reached into a crib at the side of the room, and scooped up her screaming, three month old, baby boy.

"It's okay, baby. I'm here", she hushed gently to the screaming infant in an attempt to calm him, as she slowly rocked him back and forth. The baby had progressively stopped wailing and, after a couple moments of swaying in his mother's arms, was only whimpering softly.

"That's better." The child's mother cooed as she went to sit in the corner of the room with her son. Sakura knew that he hated being alone (which she and her daughter thought was really cute) and, like Naruto commented the day her son was born, the child was definitely going to be a _huge_ 'mama's boy' someday.

She smiled adoringly as she glanced back towards the tiny infant nestled in her arms, as he fought to keep his eyes open, but failed miserably. She let out a pleasant hum and closed her eyes, what was it that she had asked herself earlier? Oh, yes: how could life get any better than this? She sighed contentedly, but froze abruptly; her eyes wide, gaze shooting down towards her son, a worried expression sweeping her face.

Now, how could she forget _that_?

You see her husband, the terse yet heroic Uchiha Sasuke, was currently out of the village on _another_ (she groaned inwardly), long-term mission, and had been for nearly a year now. The week after Naruto's rescue mission last June, Sasuke had been assigned this _mission._ He left immediately of course, leaving his wife who he loved dearly (though he'd never admit it to anybody) as well as his adored daughter and, though he didn't and still doesn't know it, he left _someone else_ behind too.

That's right, he _still_ doesn't know.

While Sakura desperately wanted to inform Sasuke, Naruto advised her not to do so, as such personal and emotional news could easily become a distraction and possibly put her husband in danger. Plus, if the letter got into the hands of the enemy, who knows how they could take advantage of it?

After some consideration, though despondent, the female Uchiha decided against her initial idea, as a hormone induced sense of dread caused her to believe that what Naruto described would most _definitely_ come to fruition.

She wasn't going to lie, her pregnancy had been rough without him; her symptoms were powerfully intense, and there were a couple of instances where she thought that the child wouldn't make it. She remembered how dark of a time it was for her and her daughter to endure, but with the support from her friends; especially Naruto and Hinata who had taken care of Sarada whenever she had to go to an emergency appointment, she and the child were able to pull through safely. Sooner or later however, the pink haired woman fretted that there would be trouble, when _he_ returned.

All in all, the situation that was to blame for Sakura's distress was this:

Uchiha Sakura now had two children, one more than she did before, and when her husband finally came home (whenever that was!) he would be utterly clueless. She never thought there would ever be a time when she didn't want Sasuke to come home.

 ** _Sasuke's POV_**

He walked down the darkened road, the only sound that could be heard was the buzzing of the street light as well as the clicks of his shoes against the pavement; otherwise there was nothing but complete silence surrounding him. He had met with Naruto only a couple moments ago at the Hokage office and, while he was glad to see his best friend (or anybody else from his old class for that matter) after such a long time, there was such an air about him that made Sasuke feel…apprehensive.

Naruto seemed very bubbly, more so than his usual self, he was jumpy even as if he were excited. Sasuke made note of his change of behaviour, but quickly brushed it off chalking it up to his success on the mission, or even his own exhaustion.

He began to feel suspicious, though, when Naruto started subtly shooing him away. He kept saying things like "Well, you better head on home now" or "You should go to bed and rest", and that's when Uchiha Sasuke knew something was up, as the blonde Uzumaki could literally talk for _hours._

The dark haired Uchiha's suspicions were raised even higher, however, when Naruto made the mistake of allowing his mischievous grin quirk up; though it was only for a second, the Uchiha automatically knew that Naruto was keeping something from him, something that was obviously torturing him to keep to himself.

If there was one thing anybody needed to know about Uchiha Sasuke, it would be that he _hated_ surprises, and this especially included secrets.

One meet of the eyes, and Naruto knew that his friend was catching on to him. Sasuke had quickly tried to press this _secret_ out of the blonde Hokage, but was cut off abruptly as he suddenly disappeared into a puff of smoke.

' _Hn, dobe'_ , he thought to himself annoyed, but half-smirking at the recent memory as he turned into the walkway of his house. He hesitated at the front gate, gazing up at his home; now this, _this_ was what he was looking forward to all day. He gazed at the tall grey building, which was branded with the red Uchiha fan on the side. He thought of his daughter when he glanced at the beaten up old training dummy in the side, and how he'd missed her chunnin inauguration ceremony.

He shook his head free of such thoughts and, with that, made his way up the cobblestone path to the red front door. He opened it, fully expecting Sakura and Sarada to be there waiting for him but, to his dismay, was met with total darkness.

 _'Didn't Naruto tell them I was coming home?'_ he wondered, wiping his dirty shoes on the black floor mat. It would make a lot more sense if this was the case, as his family would usually risk waiting all night long if they knew that he would be returning.

He took his shoes off and stepped forward, and just then something caught his eye. It was a light. Yes, a soft glow coming from…Sarada's old bedroom? Now he was really confused. He hastily took off his cloak and made his way to the staircase. As he climbed the stairs, he looked into his daughter's bedroom on the right and saw that she had fallen asleep, still wearing her training clothes instead of ordinary pyjamas.

He figured that she must have been training and collapsed on her bed, reluctantly falling asleep. The right corner of his mouth quirked up for a moment, but his eyes quickly returned to his original destination.

The door was fully open and Sasuke quickly slipped into the room, only to be met with his wife, her head slumped over to the side, pink locks hiding part of her face, her emerald eyes hidden behind her eyelids as she slept. She sat on an old rocking chair, but before Sasuke could even think to joke to himself about how his wife was slowly going insane, sleeping in here for no apparent reason, he noticed that she was holding s _omethin_ g.

Eyes wide and mouth agape, he walked over to her with a slow stride and stopped when he saw in full view, just what his wife was cradling in her arms.

A child no more than a couple months old, with soft black tufts of hair and rosy cheeks. He assumed that it was a boy due to his blue pajamas. The tiny Uchiha's fists were clenched tight, as his eyes lazily began to slowly flutter open at the sound of his slowly approaching footsteps, revealing two dark eyes that were nearly black, but had noticeable tints of green, causing them appear dark grey from afar.

Without even thinking, he gently swooped up the enfant with expert stealth and precision, and gazed into the child's eyes, mesmerized. The second thing that one needed know about Uchiha Sasuke was his weakness, which funnily enough, was his family.

This child was definitely his son, no doubts there, but how could this have happened? Well, he knew _how_ it happened, but was this even possible? The dark haired Uchiha concluded that apparently it was, still dumbstruck by the sudden revelation that he had just endured.

He noticed that the baby started to whine quietly, his face began to scrunch up, and his eyes filled with tears. It hit him like a heavy bag of bricks; the child was scared of him, the man he didn't know was his own father.

This realization sent a sudden hard pang to Sasuke's heart, reminding him of when his daughter met him after many years, and how he didn't recognize her. _'Was this how she felt?'_ he thought guiltily, but was snapped back to reality by the child cradled between his arm and chest.

This baby was going to cry, it seemed inevitable.

Sasuke glanced over to his, still sleeping, wife and then back to his son. Deciding between having a groggy Sakura attack him thinking he was an intruder or attempting to calm the baby, he decided to take the latter because he knew from personal experience, Sakura could really _'pack a strong punch',_ as his daughter would put it.

He instinctively began to bounce the baby up and down in his arms in order to soothe the boy, and after a couple of seconds, the child's frightened expression shifted to become more confused, than anything.

Sasuke smirked at the expression that the small child was making; his eyes were wide open, revealing those two captivating orbs, and his mouth was open revealing his little pink tongue. Though, this open expression quickly turned into a soft smile.

He continued rocking the infant, all while having the same small smirk on his face. He glanced over to the pink haired woman once again to double check that he hadn't wakened her. He looked back at the infant and, just when he was beginning to get the hang of this, he made one final glance towards his wife, just to be absolutely sure, and to his shock her jade eyes were wide open.

 ** _Sakura's POV_**

Something was wrong, she didn't know what, but it felt as if something were missing, she thought with her eyes still shut. She felt lighter somehow, her mind disregarded this though as she tried to remember what had happened. She recalled going to see Sousuke, and concluded that she must have fallen asleep while she was rocking back and forth in the rocking chair, in an attempt to lull her son to sleep. Slowly she began to open her eyes, her vision still a little hazy.

She blinked a couple of times to clear her clouded eyesight and slightly tilted her head to her lap where her son was. To her horror though, he wasn't there. Her heart skipped a beat, then began pounding relentlessly as her eyes darted to the floor, fearing that she may have dropped him.

However, in her half asleep state, she didn't realize the tall dark man in front of her with his back turned, and when she did she almost screamed, but luckily she caught herself, gasping inaudibly. This man was holding her son; her fear quickly turned to anger and she considered attacking the man, but stopped herself in order to study him better, a sense of familiarity creeping over her as she surveyed the stranger.

Her eyes shot wide open then, realization hitting her when she saw the empty sleeve on the man's familiar grey vest.

 _Sasuke!_

She wasn't sure if she wanted to jump up and hug him or pretend to be asleep still, but just as a precaution she chose to just keep quiet, letting her thoughts flood her brain.

When did he come home?! Sakura's mind was racing, was he upset? She couldn't see his face (thank goodness he couldn't see hers either!), so she had absolutely no clue what was going on inside his head right now.

He was slowly swaying back and forth, with their son nestled between his arm and torso, which she would have normally thought was adorable, but given the set of circumstances could only feel dumbfounded at the sight in front of her. Sakura's eyes were wide open and her mouth was agape, she couldn't believe this was really happening right now!

Suddenly, his head peered over his shoulder slightly, catching sight of the petrified Sakura. He fully turned around, his arm firmly holding onto their son, so as not to drop him and, to Sakura's surprise, he was…smiling.

Not his usual 'half smile', this time he was _actually_ smiling.

Still shocked, she sat and watched as her husband slowly approached her and handed her the child. She looked down to see that the boy was fast asleep, with a small smile visible on his face.

Feeling a slight pressure on her temple, she looked up to see her husband, who had rested his fingers on the center of her forehead, a beaming smile on his lips as he said softly, "Now tell me, what is my son's name?"

 **There you go! Please let me know what you thought of that story, as well as any other pairings I should include next time! Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day! :)**


	2. Temari

**Hello everyone! I'd just like to take this time to thank anyone who shared their thoughts on the first chapter and everyone who followed or added this story to their favorites! :)**

 **I've chosen to continue this story, and will update as soon as I can.  
I had written the Naruhina chapter, and intended to upload it today, but unfortunately, the file got corrupted and I need to start over. At the time, this chapter was almost complete, so I decided to share this one in the meantime, I apologize for any inconveniences.**

 **Without further ado please enjoy this next chapter!**

The Problematic Adventures of Being a Housewife  
~Chapter Two~

 ** _Temari's POV_**

She had been sitting here for at least an hour now, staring at the dull ceiling in her warm bed, wishing that the day didn't have to start. It was at least ten o'clock in the morning and, for the first time in her life, she was glad that her husband, Nara Shikamaru, was so incredibly lazy. She smirked at his sprawled out form, and at how loud he was snoring with his mouth hanging wide open; well at least they might not make it in time, she thought jokingly, as she stood out of bed and walked down the hall, towards the porch.

She looked onto the busy streets of the Hidden Sand Village, where she and her husband have spent their entire six months of married life. She smiled at the warm wind that brushed her face, and the various villagers waving to her as they walked past the small, clay house.

That was another reason she didn't want to go today; every time she left her village to visit the Leaf, she always felt extremely homesick. To top it off, they would be going for an entire week! A day or two was fine, but seven days! She groaned, frustrated and rubbed her temples hoping to calm her nerves.

She shouldn't have agreed to this, she thought, this was going to be a complete _disaster_! The part that angered her the most, however, was that she had agreed to this! _'How could she do this to herself?!'_ she complained to no one in particular.

It all started when that stupid letter arrived the other week ago. She remembered snatching the yellow envelope from her husband and tearing it open, the moment he brought it into the house. He only chuckled and shook his head in response. For some reason, she had always loved opening the letters they received, as not many of their friends lived here in Sunagakure; Shikamaru always joked, likening her to a child tearing open a neatly-wrapped present.

She read the neat cursive, inked into the white parchment paper. Geez, whoever wrote this is _really_ old-fashioned, she thought to herself, skipping to the bottom of the letter to see who wrote it. Her dark emerald eyes widened at the signature, and she scanned the contents. Her smile grew, and she looked up at her husband excited.

Confused, he took the paper and quickly skimmed through it. "You _really_ want to go?" he had asked curiously. She nodded enthusiastically, for what reason? Well, looking back now she wasn't quite sure, but after Shikamaru had agreed to go with her, she took the letter back and smiled at the message, once more.

It was from Nara Yoshino, and she wanted her son and new daughter-in-law (who she still hasn't formally met) to come and visit.

At first, as you all now know, the blonde kunoichi was very eager to meet her husband's mother. She had replied to her letter, and started packing almost immediately which, Shikamaru noted, was extremely unlike her, but was somewhat adorable at the same time.

She wasn't going to lie, her 'people skills' were _not_ a ten out of ten and she wasn't really the type to go out of her way to make new friends, but something about the thought of meeting Shikamaru's mother somehow made her feel giddy. Maybe it was because she lost her mother at a young age? She really didn't know.

A couple days before they were set to depart, however, Temari's attitude took a great shift, when she made the mistake of asking her husband to tell her about Yoshino. From what her, half-asleep, husband had told her, her mother-in-law was bossy, strict, and (worst of all) still very protective of her fully grown son.

He had joked that their similarities would guarantee that they'd get along just fine but, despite this, she had been attempting to be the best wife anyone could ever have. If she could get herself used to acting like a typical house wife before the visit, what could possibly go wrong?

She cooked all of his favorite meals every night, folded and _even_ put _away_ his laundry (which she usually made him do for himself. As she had told him before: she was his wife, not his maid), she went so far as to refer to him as 'darling' when she spoke to him.

She really needed to play her cards right, if she wanted approval from Shikamaru's mother. If this _Yoshino_ was so 'protective' of her son, she feared that it probably meant that Shikamaru would value her opinion greatly, as well. To Temari, this meant that one simple slip-up on her part, could tip over the first domino in the chain.

The butterflies in her stomach seemed to quicken their speed, at this thought, as she took a deep breath, the anxiety causing the tips of her ears to heat up. She gasped and jumped up however, when she felt a soft tap on her shoulder: it was Shikamaru. "You ready to go?" he asked and, hesitantly, she nodded.

She just hoped her 'mom' would like her.

 ** _Yoshino's POV_**

She gazed down at the slightly crumpled frame-less picture, which she usually kept in her wallet, in her small hands. She smiled, seeing the bright grin on her boy's face in the photo. He looked so handsome that day; whoever raised him did a fine job, she thought, complimenting herself half-jokingly. Ah, if only her husband were here to see the man that he had become; Shikaku would have been _so_ proud.

Her eyes suddenly shifted to the person standing next to him in the photo. A young woman, with beautiful honey-blonde hair tied up in a low loose bun, with her bands slightly curled to the left side. To top it off she wore a stunning headpiece that had a long row of white roses attached to it, framing the side of her head, as well as a shorter second row behind the first.

Her kimono was a traditional white, though the obi tied around her waist was a soft lilac, with nearly invisible white flowers decorating her waist, shimmering in the Sand Villages bright sunlight. The kimono she wore had long sleeves, so one could not see her hands, but despite it was visible that the two newly-weds in the photo had their arms closely linked together.

At least she was pretty, the middle aged woman scoffed; still disappointed that she wasn't able to attend her _own_ beloved son's wedding.

She remembered how there was a hold and secure in the Leaf that day due to potentially dangerous wildlife around the gates; _no one_ was allowed to leave, and she had made the mistake of not going to Suna earlier, like a couple of the other guests from Konoha had. Luckily though, Shikamaru's close-friend Naruto was kind enough to bring this photo back with him, and she's kept it with her since.

She tossed the picture back into her purse, not bothering to place it in her wallet, as she went back to tidying the kitchen.

She couldn't help, but wonder what her Shikamaru's Temari was like. Sure, she had seen her a couple times as a child and in her teen years, but she was an adult now and people change.

She gave a sigh, she just hoped that her new daughter-in-law wasn't a big pushover, a servant to her spouse, like some of her old classmates had been when they got married. Seriously, from personal experience, she now realized how important it was for the wife to take charge in the relationship. She also knew how much fun it was too, she gave a small laugh at how her son used to tease his father all the time because of that.

She glanced at the stove and squinted her eyes to study the small blue digital numbers, which indicated the time of day.

Her eyes widened it was almost six o'clock, they'd be here any time now! She rushed to the bathroom to fix her hair one final time, while hanging her apron on the wooden peg by the entryway to the kitchen. Upon hearing the doorbell ring, she quickly finished putting her long, brown hair back into a neat ponytail, and rushed to the door.

It was finally happening, she squealed excitedly in her mind, as she unlocked the door and twisted the brass handle. She swung it open, without hesitation, and there they were:

Her son Shikamaru, looking lethargic _as usual_ , next to his beautiful wife who, she noticed, was desperately trying to hide the fact that she was shaking all over.

 ** _Before the Visit-Temari's POV_**

They were walking down the familiar streets of the Leaf village and, arguing that they had plenty of time before they were expected to be there, Temari made sure that they had visited their former classmates and close friends Naruto and Hinata, to postpone the inevitable.

But now, the time had come. There was no turning back now, it was really going to happen. Shikamaru, who was holding his wife's hand as they walked, noticed that she was now full-on clinging to his arm. He smirked, "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you like this before." He chuckled at the scowl he received in response.

"Don't be so nervous. Everything will be fine", he said knowingly for the hundredth time. She looked up at him, a soft smile placed on her lips as she spoke, "Thanks _Shika_ -, I mean, darling" she said her voice gradually getting quieter, her cheeks heating up.

He pulled her aside and gave a light sigh, "That's the other thing, don't pretend to be someone you're not, just be yourself and everything will be fine. Trust me." He said, his warm brown eyes staring into her jade ones, with both hands on her shoulders. She looked perplexed for a moment, but finally nodded in agreement.

"Good!" he said, but leaned in close, "Besides, I really liked the way you were before this all happened, anyways" he spoke softly as he gave her a quick peck on her pink lips.

She smiled up at him, and they continued to walk, turning into the entry of his mother's front porch.

They stood at the front door and, before signaling their arrival, Shikamaru nodded reassuringly towards her and pressed the dim glowing button on the side of the house, causing a loud 'ping' noise to emanate loudly throughout the house.

They heard soft footsteps approach the entrance to the small townhouse, and with the sound of one small 'click' the door seemed to fly open, revealing a petite, middle-aged woman wearing a red shirt, and long brown skirt.

"Hello!" she called out excitedly, dragging out the 'o' sound.

She rushed out of the house and embraced her son, who she hadn't seen in months, and to Temari's surprise, she turned and hugged her tightly as well. "Come in, come in!" she gestured into the house.

"Yes, hello mother", Shikamaru sighed as they walked in, both setting their bags, which they were previously carrying on their backs, down onto the floor. Temari quickly looked up from sandals, which she had just taken off, as she heard a loud gasping noise and saw that her mother-in-law had grabbed her husband's cheek and, scolding him, said "Nara Shikamaru! Is that any way to greet your mother after so long? Didn't I teach you any manners, young man?!" she reprimanded, eventually releasing his cheek from her motherly grip.

Temari let out a giggle when she saw her husband's face turn crimson as he scratched the back of his head, embarrassed that his wife had just witnessed his mother scold him at age twenty. He quickly brushed it off though, seeing that Temari was finally starting to become at ease, and let out a soft laugh whilst informing the two women that he was going to bring the bags upstairs.

Yoshino looked towards Temari, who had a bright smile on her face, and sighed happily "Oh, that boy…stubborn just like his father", she laughed shaking her head. "I only hope he doesn't talk to you like that", she joked.

Her tense muscles relaxed and, feeling ten times more confident after seeing just how similar she and her mother-in-law were, the blonde woman laughed, saying "Don't you worry Nara-San, I will always make sure to keep him in check", both women giggled together happily.

"Oh, no need for formalities dear", she smiled brightly, "Please, just call me Yoshino." The blonde woman only nodded in reply, utterly shocked by what happened next.

"Anyways, come with me. I want you to tell me everything that's happened since you two moved to the Sand Village." She grabbed Temari's arm and pulled gently for her to follow her into the kitchen. Her mind blurred as Yoshino began to rattle off all of the other various things they needed to do during the visit.

Temari would have been satisfied with just simply being accepted into the _family_ , but now they were going to be like mother and daughter? This was quite the success indeed, she thought to herself. She was so relieved, that she realized that she hadn't listened to a word that the brunette woman was saying.

Automatically, her legs began to walk for her (thankfully!). The corners of her mouth quirked up and, at that moment, the blonde kunoichi had a feeling that this week was going to be _so_ much better than she thought it would be an hour ago.

Fin

 **So, there you have it! I've always thought that Shikamaru's mother was a really caring person underneath her bossy exterior, so I decided to really try and portray her that way in this chapter; sorry if any of the characters were too OOC!**

In my personal opinion though, I liked the first chapter of this story better, but it was still really fun to write this one too. The next chapter (Naruhina) will be up as soon as I'm finished writing and editing it. So stay tuned, and I hope you all have a wonderful day! :)

 **TheCuriousCashew**


	3. Hinata

**Good morning fellow readers! Today's chapter is the chapter that I think a lot of you have wanted to read the most and, like always, I'm super excited to share the Naruhina chapter with you all! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, or favorited this story; this thanks includes everyone who has read my story, it really means a lot!**

 **Without further delay, let's begin this third chapter; I hope you enjoy it! :)**

The Problematic Adventures of Being a Housewife

~Chapter Three~

 ** _Hinata's POV_**

He had an earthy smell, like fresh pine needles or even freshly-cut grass; definitely not like the soft detergent that disguised the rest of their clothes. Hinata, her nose still buried in her husband Uzumaki Naruto's, now clean sweater, had closed her violet eyes. It was odd to her that his clothes never smelt like the fresh soap after being washed.

She smiled; she liked his smell, it reminded her of their genin days; exploring all of the wilderness outside of the village for the first time. Though it sounded silly, and made her feel a little bit embarrassed, his scent reminded her of home, where she truly belonged. With a growing blush, she sighed contentedly, folded the shirt and lightly placed it in the white basket beside her, her delicate hand reaching up to unclip the next piece of clothing from the thin string above her.

 _Fold…_

 _Put away…_

 _Unclip…_

 _Fold…_

 _Put away…_

Her nimble fingers worked quickly to put all of the clean laundry away neatly. She picked up one of her son's white shirts, and gazed at it half-heartedly. He had just recently turned sixteen, and to her dismay, he was no longer her 'little boy' anymore. Slowly but surely, he was growing up and, though it seemed selfish, Hinata was saddened that one day soon he wouldn't be around anymore; he'd have his _own_ responsibilities and his _own_ family to worry about.

She gazed up to his window at the top right corner of the house, shielding her eyes from the bright sun. She was beginning to feel concerned; he had been sleeping since yesterday morning. She brushed it off though, recalling the rigorous training he had endured with his master Uchiha Sasuke, outside of the village, for the past couple of months.

She continued folding.

She and Sakura were both shocked that the male Uchiha would offer to do such a thing, but both of the women joked that he was only doing it in order to keep Boruto away from his precious daughter, who the Uzumaki boy seemed to have taken a serious romantic interest in lately.

And then, there was her own little girl, Himawari. She, like her older brother, had also started mature at pace that seemed faster than lightning, to her. Though she was only fourteen, she had recently become a chunnin and started leaving the village on considerably high-level rank missions for her parent's liking; despite her father's initial protests, a little bit of convincing and a couple 'puppy dog' looks later, the matter was settled.

He never _could_ say no to his 'princess', the raven-haired woman mused.

She reached for the last piece of clothing, another one of Naruto's shirts, and when she unclipped it, something fell out of one of the two side pockets. Curious, she quickly folded and neatly set the shirt in the basket, before the object, currently on the ground, could blow away in the wind.

When her eyes met the, deep red, item laying in the soft green grass, her breath hitched and her eyes widened slightly.

He _still_ kept that with him?

She picked up the familiar, yet still damp, torn piece of cloth and gazed at it; it was one of her many failed attempts to knit a red scarf for him. She was astonished, her heart began to swell; it had been _seventeen years_ since then.

Oh _that man,_ he was so goofy sometimes, Hinata giggled to herself happily as she returned the soft, red scrap to the pocket, knowing her husband would most definitely feel extremely embarrassed if he knew she had seen it.

She went inside of the house and set the full basket down by the stairs, as she heard the whistle of the kettle she had put on before going outside. She quickly rushed to the kitchen, so as not to wake her son upstairs, and poured the water into a simple brown mug, mixing in peppermint leaves for flavour.

She sat down at the kitchen table and slowly sipped the hot liquid, the refreshing mint soothing her throat. As she sat there she couldn't help but feel a little lonely. She wished her husband didn't have to stay at work so long. But, she knew better than anyone that his busy role was crucial to the success of the village, and that it was expected of him to sacrifice his personal life.

Nevertheless, she just couldn't fight the way she was feeling.

 ** _Naruto's POV_**

Y'know, this job was _not_ what he thought it would be, the blonde Hokage thought to himself, hastily jotting down the names of this year's genin graduates, all while assorting them into their three-man squads on his computer.

If he knew, twenty-four years ago, that being Hokage would be a 'crappy desk job', he _might_ not have pushed for it as much as he did, and stayed as a jonin; well, technically genin, he snorted in amusement as he continued typing.

Back when he was young, he simply wanted recognition as someone important, so he could prove to all of those stupid adults that he was worth-while. He had convinced himself that the only way to ever achieve that was to 'one-up' everyone, by becoming Hokage of course. Why did he _have_ to be such a smart-ass? ' _Being the hero wasn't enough eh?_ ' he groaned inwardly.

Don't take this the wrong way, Naruto enjoyed his position as Hokage; the people _did_ look up to him and he _did_ feel important, but he never really thought about how much… _work_ there was going to be.

He always pictured himself going on these huge missions that no one else could go on, risking his life protecting the village from enemies all the time, and being loved for it by everyone; he was foolish and ignorant to believe that _that_ was what being Hokage was about.

He never thought of the little things such as organizing events, approving construction projects, ordering supplies from other villages, etc. Contrary to what he used to believe, the Hokage truly does work behind the scenes rather than in front of the entire village.

That was only the _first_ thing that kind of bothered him about this job, otherwise he would've gotten used to it by now.

Now, the part that he absolutely _hated_ about being Hokage was, not only because he had to put on this stern act every morning he woke up, but also because of those ridiculously long shifts he had to work. In the past year, he had managed to finish all of his work, hours before he was supposed to leave, but even still he was forced to stay in that boring, empty office; it seemed tedious, and it frustrated the blonde jinchuuriki beyond belief.

Strangely, he had never imagined himself with a wife or children, despite his childish infatuation with his, good friend, Sakura. When he realized his love for Hinata, however, things seemed to shift and, suddenly his family was more important to him than his 'dream'.

He felt as if he'd abandoned them, luckily his two kids were shinobi and lately he's been seeing them on a regular basis (except for Boruto, who was with Sasuke for the past six months), but his wife? Who knows how long it's been since they went out or even spent a day together at home?

He missed his wife so much and while he saw her when he came home from work, she was either falling asleep or had _already_ dozed off waiting for him. Maybe, he thought to himself, he could convince Shikamaru to let him leave early today; he was in an especially good mood this afternoon since his son, Shikadai, had recently become a jonin.

The male Uzumaki concluded that if that were ever going to happen, he'd have to at least finish today's work, he thought glancing over to the small shrinking pile of papers on his desk.

With newfound motivation, he eagerly zipped through all of the work, and luckily most of it was just construction and alliance contracts that simply needed a quick signature. His bandaged prosthetic arm reached for the final document of the, once monstrous, pile.

Again?! He thought shocked and feeling a little indignant, reading the text on the page.

She just got back! Was this girl trying to get herself hurt?! He thought as he looked down at another one of Himawari's team request to go on any available A-rank missions. He thought he was being generous when he allowed her to go on several B-rank missions, and he was about to stamp the request 'declined' when something on the corner of the paper caught his eye.

He groaned, why did his daughter have to torture him like this?! He gazed at the colourful sticky note that had been smoothed to the bottom left corner of the paper. He read over the note, his breath hitched, as he pictured the 'puppy dog eyes' she would be using on him, if she herself were here right now.

He tried his best to stay resilient, but she had used words like 'daddy' and 'pretty please', as well as a few others that she knew would make him cave.

He thought of Himawari, then looked back at the adorable note again and, defeated, he gave a half-hearted sigh and approved the mission, allowing them to escort a noble from one village to the next. He was nervous because they would be passing by enemy territory, but choosing between searching after missing-nins and missions that involved travelling half-way across the country, he decided that it was the best choice for his little girl.

With her mischievously manipulative attitude, which she probably got from his mother as well as himself, combined with her 'cutesy', 'good-girl' attitude, which reminded him of his wife so much, there was absolutely no way he could ever deny her. She was the only opponent who could ever make him forfeit before the real match started, besides his wife, of course.

He slid his chair back from his desk and, before getting up to try and beg Shikamaru to leave (doubting that he actually would), a gust of wind came in through the slightly cracked open window, and hit him in such a way that he sneezed very loudly.

When he recovered however, instead of continuing with his original plan that would most likely fail, his mischievous smirk quirked up.

He had the perfect idea.

 ** _Hinata's POV_**

"Boruto…" she called softly from the kitchen upon hearing small footsteps slowly shuffling their way down the stairs. She got up swiftly and made her way to the front hall and, sure enough, the sound she had heard was her son, but to her curiosity he was dressed nicely and his sandals were on as if he were going out.

"Where are you going, sweetie? Sasuke told me that you'd probably be out for the rest of the week. Are you sure you're rested enough to go out?" She questioned her son, who had a slight tint of pink growing on his cheeks as he replied "Nah, I'm good ma, thanks though. It's just that…I promised to train with Hima after her school today, and I wouldn't want to disappoint her." He explained, but Hinata felt a little suspicious. Something did not seem right.

She brushed it off and watched her son get up and move towards the door, kicking his sandals on the floor-mat to make sure they were on tight. As he opened the door to leave, she saw Uchiha Sarada waiting by the front of the walkway. Noticing this, her son quickly pecked her on the cheek and hastily exited the house, his light blush now a dark crimson, closing the door behind him. That's when it clicked in Hinata's mind.

He wasn't going to train with his little sister at all, she giggled realizing that her son was too embarrassed to admit that he was going to be out with Sarada.

She began to make her way upstairs to clean up a little bit, but when she made it to her bedroom, she heard another loud knock on the front door. Much faster than she had climbed, she quickly went back downstairs and opened the door.

It was Shikamaru and Naruto, and her husband did _not_ look well at all. His advisor supported him with one of his arms around his back to help him walk straight, his eyes were half-lidded as if he were going to pass out any moment, and he let out a cough or two every once in a while.

Naruto's dark-haired friend and advisor, explained to Hinata how her husband hadn't been feeling well earlier today. Shikamaru informed her about how he brushed it off as being a common cold, but when the blonde Hokage passed out onto floor on his way back to his office, the dark-haired man confirmed his friend had a fever and thought it best to bring him home.

Politely, the raven-haired woman thanked Shikamaru and replaced his arm with hers around her husband's back. She closed the door behind her with her foot, and slowly led Naruto to the living room where he could rest on the couch.

"Thanks…Hinata…" he said in a raspy voice as she wrapped him in a warm, white blanket that she had knit, on the sofa. She nodded and replied "Naruto-kun, just stay there okay? Don't move, while I make you some tea." she waited for him to nod while she went to put the kettle back on. When she returned, his eyes were shut, and she crept over and sat on the floor beside him.

He was already looking better, she noted, as she studied his peaceful sleeping face. For the sixteen years that they've been married she had never seen him so vulnerable, like this. She sat up a bit and leaned over, cupping his cheek and gently caressing the whisker marks that were etched there with her thumb. She blushed, it didn't matter how long they'd been together: she would never be able to get over how handsome she thought her husband was.

She had missed him so much, especially this past week, she thought as she leaned in further and kissed her forehead. Upon meeting his skin her eyes snapped open, and she retracted back to her original position.

How peculiar, she thought as she touched a hand to his forehead, confirming her initial thought.

It wasn't a burning hot temperature at all! She looked at him confused, her hand still resting on his forehead, when suddenly his eyes opened revealing his starling cobalt blue orbs.

He was… _smiling?_

"Good morning, hime", he said in a regular voice, which caused Hinata to raise an eyebrow. "Naruto-kun, what's…going on?" she inquired, her mind still unable to piece together what was happening. "Well hime, it seems that your beauty has cured me of my illness" he replied jokingly.

She smacked his chest lightly, causing him to chuckle softly. She studied his face, and her husband's cheeky smile widened when her facial features revealed that she _knew_.

"You faked being sick?!" she gasped loudly, and the couple stared at each other silently for a few short moments, before they both began to laugh.

When they finally calmed down a bit Hinata spoke, "But Naruto-kun, what about the fever and passing out?" He took a dramatic breath and, his smile comical, replied: "Well, you see hime, your wonderful husband happens to be an amazing actor, and a pro at using fire-style jutsu."

They both giggled again, Hinata imagining her silly husband purposely crashing down onto the floor in front of people, just to come home.

"Oh Naruto, you're so funny. But I have to ask; why did you go through all this trouble, just to leave work?" she asked

He sat up, leaned in and kissed his wife, ignoring the sound of the kettle screeching in the background.

"Because, I missed you, dattebayo."

 **So what did you guys think? Please let me know in the review section, as well as any other pairings you'd like me to write about. Also, which chapter was your favourite so far because, contrary to what I said last chapter, I think I'm pretty torn between this chapter and the first one :)**  
 **By the way, in case anyone was wondering, 'hime' is the Japanese word meaning: princess.**

 **Anyways, thank you for reading, and I hope you all have a wonderful day!**

 **TheCuriousCashew**


End file.
